HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Role for Marijuana in AIDS Treatment

Advocates of new medical treatments for people living with HIV and AIDS are compiling scientific studies and anecdotal evidence to make a case for the use of the locally-grown illegal weed dagga (marijuana) to assist those who have contracted the virus or have developed AIDS.

HIV/AIDS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: The War On The Pandemic Reaps Positive Results

Southern Africa is responding to its AIDS pandemic with new programmes that promoters say must be as adaptable as the HIV virus itself.

RIGHTS-SWAZILAND: Churches Overcome Embarrassment to Tackle AIDS

Churches in Swaziland appear to be stepping up efforts to fight the AIDS pandemic – and to help their congregations deal with sexual abuse. This comes in the wake of revelations that this tiny Southern African country now has the world’s highest HIV prevalence.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Willing Hearts Do Battle With Empty Pockets

In a country where funds for social programmes are often lacking, volunteers find themselves being called on to fill the gap. Of late, however, the demands placed on these individuals have become increasingly burdensome.

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: School Funds for AIDS orphans So Near – Yet So Far

Swazi school children returned to their hostels Friday (May 7) in preparation for the second term of the academic year. However, a question mark hangs over the fate of thousands of AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children who may not be permitted to continue their schooling this term.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Anti-corruption Body Exists in Name Only

The government of Swaziland has allocated R2 million (307,692 dollars) in its budget for an anti-corruption office that does not function, but is sorely needed.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Strong Currency Undermines Tourism

Swazis tired of hearing their country condemned for having a traditional African monarchy for its governing system are countering that this very culture makes Swaziland a unique place any tourist would want to visit.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Uneasy Donors Stay Put – For the Time Being

The sacks of maize that are keeping Mbali Mthembu's family alive bear the stamp "United States of America". The 25- year-old mother of three collects her monthly food stipend from a distribution point near the village of Siphofaneni in Swaziland's eastern Lubombo region, which has been hard hit by three years of drought.

HEALTH-SWAZILAND: A Positive Spin-off From the AIDS Crisis

It may be a dim silver lining to a particularly dark cloud, but one apparent result of the AIDS pandemic in Swaziland is that fewer people in the country are smoking.

ECONOMY-SWAZILAND: Loosening the Reins on Mineral Resources

The exploitation of Swazi mineral resources has long been a sensitive area of debate, as the colonial era saw a considerable portion of these resources being depleted by foreigners. However, the overtures of a South African businessman might be about to change all that.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Business Reeling Under the Impact of HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS has not been seen as only a medical problem since the 1990s. The disease's negative economic impacts on businesses in Southern Africa are being confirmed by surveys conducted by health and business groups.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Pressure of AIDS, Economic Decline Spur Ritual Murders

"Ritual murder is a fact in Swaziland. Our only protection is to adopt a defensive attitude," Robert Dube, a businessperson in the capital city, told IPS.

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: A New Policy to Keep AIDS Orphans in School

A new education initiative has been started in Swaziland to assist children who have lost parents to the AIDS pandemic.

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: English a Passport to Success?

A heated debate is underway in Swaziland about whether children who fail English should be forced to repeat the academic year.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Politics and Tradition Clash in Swaziland’s “Incwala”

Swaziland is currently in the midst of its sacred Incwala ceremony, which many believe is crucial for the welfare of the country. However, the celebrations have not been without controversy.

HEALTH-SWAZILAND: Prisons Break the Taboo Surrounding AIDS

2004 is shaping up as the year of prison reform in Swaziland, and AIDS is the catalyst.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Drought Shows Weaknesses in Traditional Farming

Government officials in Swaziland have taken to calling the current drought in the kingdom "the worst in recorded history". But for Amos Mhlanga, a subsistence farmer near the southern border town of LaVumisa, the latest weather pattern is sadly familiar.

RIGHTS: Child-Headed Households Growing in Swaziland

How does it feel to be an orphan in a country where by tradition there are no orphans?

COMMUNICATIONS: Mobile Phones in Vogue in Africa

Africans' insatiable appetite for cell phones has made the continent a profitable market for the high-tech gadgets, which were introduced only a decade ago. But in the intervening ten years, the sales figures have masked a larger social story: how the proliferation of cell phones is changing Africans' relationships with one another.

RIGHTS-SWAZILAND: Abortion Remains a Controversial Issue

After banning abortion in the country, but then leaving an option for its eventual legalisation, the new draft constitution typifies the ambiguous feeling most Swazis have toward the procedure.

HEALTH-SWAZILAND: AIDS a Greater Threat Than Ever Before

Swaziland is a small country geographically, and its population numbers less than a million. But, it has an oversized AIDS problem.